A contributor to the sport as an athlete, coach and author, Fred Wilt was an outstanding distance runner at Indiana University under Hall of Fame coach Billy Hayes before becoming an Olympic competitor while running for the New York A.C.
Wilt competed in two Olympic 10,000-meter finals, finishing 11th in 1948 and 21st in 1952. He won eight National AAU titles, ranging from the indoor mile in 1951 to three championships in cross country. While at Indiana in 1941, he claimed two national collegiate titles, one in cross country and the other in the two mile. In 1950, Wilt was named the Sullivan Award winner as the nation's top amateur athlete. Two years later, at age 32, Wilt set an indoor world record in the two-mile run and later that year, broke an 18-year-old American record with a time of 14:26.8 for 5000 meters. An FBI agent during his competitive days, Wilt's interest later turned to the technical side of track and field. His book, How they Train, was a long-time best seller. He also helped start Track Technique, one of the best technical journals in the world.